Review: SHATTERED / by Dani Pettrey

Dani Pettrey returns with another contemporary suspense novel set in the Alaskan wilderness, and continuing the story of the McKenna family.

In Shattered, Reef McKenna returns to Yancy, Alaska after an absence of five years. His sister Piper is delighted until he shows up on her doorstep covered in blood. While circumstantial evidence points to Reef for the murder of a fellow snowboarder, Piper believes her brother when he swears he is innocent.

Meanwhile Deputy Landon Grainger, a lifelong friend to the McKenna family, is determined to find the facts, especially as the details of snowboarder’s life points to a life of mystery. They discover that the snowboarder, a mobster’s daughter, was once in the Witness Protection program, and dated a guy involved in top-secret biotech research, any of which could have been the reason she was killed. While they try to sort out the leads, Reef is charged with the snowboarder’s murder. As Landon and Piper race to find out the truth, they plunge headlong into Alaska’s backcountry, their changing relationship, and the real killer who will do anything to bury the facts and possibly, them.

Pettrey has done it again, writing a cleverly-crafted mystery with romance, adventure, rich character development, and spine-tingling suspense. Her characters are imperfect – they struggle with faith and relationship issues, and yet, they endear themselves to the reader because of this. It was sad to read the last page of Shattered because it meant leaving behind people I enjoyed spending time with. Hopefully, Ms. Pettrey will return with another book in this series.

Fans of Dee Henderson, Irene Hanson, and other Christian suspense writers will not be disappointed by this series.

Recommended for high school libraries, as well as adult collections in public libraries.